Professor Corey D. B. Walker is the Dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, and Director of the Program in African American Studies. He pursued his education at two HBCUs and two of the oldest schools in America, and talks about how each of these formations gave him the ability to develop into the intellectual he is today. As an expert in the areas of African American philosophy, critical theory, ethics and religion, Professor Walker discusses the overlap between theology and democracy, and explores what it means to be human in today’s society.  

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Corey D. B. Walker, Wake Forest University 

Corey D. B. Walker is the Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities with a joint appointment in the department of English and the Interdisciplinary Humanities Program at Wake Forest University. Professor Walker is the interim Dean of the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, in addition to the inaugural director of the Program in African American Studies. His research, teaching, and public scholarship span the areas of African American philosophy, critical theory, ethics, and religion and American public life. Dr. Walker is author and editor of several books and has published over sixty articles, essays, and book chapters in a wide variety of scholarly journals and publications. He is currently completing his next book, Disciple of Nonviolence: Wyatt Tee Walker and the Struggle for the Soul of Democracy, to be published by the University of Virginia Press. A much sought after speaker, he has appeared on a variety of media programs and has served as a commentator for a number of outlets in the United States and abroad. Professor Walker is the 2023-2024 Frank M. Updike Memorial Scholar.

About Key Conversations 

 

Key Conversations with Phi Beta Kappa is a podcast featuring in-depth conversations between Fred Lawrence, Secretary/CEO of Phi Beta Kappa, and Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholars. With a new episode released monthly, each podcast invites listeners to take a seat at the table to learn more about the featured Scholar's background, research, and how they have taken their respective paths to where they are now, and where they are headed. 

Since 1956, the Phi Beta Kappa Visiting Scholar Program has been offering undergraduates the opportunity to spend time with some of America's most distinguished scholars. The purpose of the program is to contribute to the intellectual life of the campus by making possible an exchange of ideas between the Visiting Scholars and the resident faculty and students.​
 

Our Host

Frederick M. Lawrence is the 10th Secretary and CEO of the Phi Beta Kappa Society. An accomplished scholar, teacher and attorney, he is one of the nation’s leading experts on civil rights, free expression, and bias crimes. Learn More.

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